Woman Fights For Her Life After I-10 Accident In Biloxi

Investigators will know why an SUV zoomed through an I-10 median and then slammed into an 18 wheeler if its driver survives. The mid-morning collision critically injured 20-year-old Erica Childress. According to investigators, she's fighting for her life at the University of South Alabama Medical Center.

The accident was on the eastbound side of I-10, just before the Cedar Lake Road exit. For more than two hours, wreckage littered the highway, and snarled traffic. But that section of the interstate reopened at 12:30 p.m.

Sirens pierced the crisp Monday morning sky near Cedar Lake Road.

"Traffic is going to be tied up on this signal 1-S," officer David Prahl radioed to a dispatcher.

Harold Whitted was at the very front of the I-10 logjam. He was on the interstate at 10:30, on his way home from work, when he saw an SUV careen across the grassy median, and slam right into an oncoming 18 wheeler.

Whitted called the scene unfolding in front of him, "Pretty heartbreaking."

"She was still breathing. But we couldn't even see her face or nothing," Whitted said.

He worked with another driver to free Childress from the wreckage.

"She was jammed between the passenger seat and the passenger door," explained Whitted.

Once she was out of the SUV, emergency personnel treated Childress and rushed her to the hospital.

"Normally, when we do see something like this, if they live through it, it's a miracle," commented Biloxi officer Darryl Montiforte.

At that point, police began to focus on the I-10 traffic jam behind the accident scene.

"I'm going to send 173 and 176 down to you," Prahl told a fellow officer. "10-4," was the response back to him.

The violent collision put the brakes on mid-morning traffic. Cars and trucks on the eastbound side of I-10 from Cedar Lake Road back to east Gulfport didn't move for more than two hours. Officer Prahl determined a solution to ease the traffic mess was back at exit 41.

"You're going to shut down all the traffic coming eastbound, and just veer it off the Woolmarket exit," he announced.

At the scene, debris from the wreckage littered the highway. Shattered glass, and mangled metal came from Childress' SUV. An axle and two tires fell off the jackknifed truck.

"The driver of the 18 wheeler tried to avoid it as best as possible," Prahl said.

Montiforte led the accident investigation.

"For some unknown reason, she came across the median," he said. "He slammed on brakes, and she hit his third axle."

Erica Childress is 20-years-old. Investigators said she was on her way to work at the Beef O'Brady's in Gulfport when she lost control over her SUV. Authorities said she was in critical condition at the USA Medical Center with multiple broken bones.

Thousands of Ingalls workers will receive a second bonus check this week. (Photo source: WLOX)

Thousands of Ingalls workers will receive a second bonus check this week (photo credit: WLOX)

Thousands of Ingalls Shipbuilding workers will get a lot of extra money in the paychecks this week. It's the second installment of a contract bonus from a new contract deal the company and unions reached last November.

Thousands of Ingalls Shipbuilding workers will get a lot of extra money in the paychecks this week. It's the second installment of a contract bonus from a new contract deal the company and unions reached last November.

Bryant has said multiple times that he wants Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child. Source: Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves

The law goes into effect immediately and the only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it incompatible with life outside the womb at full term or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not exempt from the new law.

The law goes into effect immediately and the only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it incompatible with life outside the womb at full term or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not exempt from the new law.

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

Robert and Irma Talamantez have both practiced Santeria for nearly three decades. They said they aren't cruel and they aren't criminals, they're just believers in a misunderstood religion. (Source: KSAT/CNN)

Robert and Irma Talamantez have both practiced Santeria for nearly three decades. They said they aren't cruel and they aren't criminals, they're just believers in a misunderstood religion.

Bryant has said multiple times that he wants Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child. Source: Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves

The law goes into effect immediately and the only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it incompatible with life outside the womb at full term or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not exempt from the new law.

The law goes into effect immediately and the only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it incompatible with life outside the womb at full term or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not exempt from the new law.